Brand new Bruder/MediaSub Nikon D70 housing + Port

I own this housing, but I currently don’t have it. The manufacturer/distributor has the housing.

What I do have is documentation that Wet Accessories (my company) ordered and paid for a Nikon D70 housing with a port to fit the 18-70mm kit lens from MediaSub, and (fragments of) one years worth of e-mail correspondence with a Mr Dominique Scherer of MediaSub regarding various problems with the housing.

Last time I heard from Mr Scherer was about six weeks ago when he offered to send us a new housing. (We had returned the housing to MediaSub. It was never used. The problems where too obvious for anyone to take it diving.) I have not received that new housing, and I’ve not heard from MediaSub or Bruder in many weeks despite several attempts to contact them.

Now I’d like to sell this housing – or more correctly my claim to a new, perfectly functional, housing like this one from Bruder/MediaSub. I sell it for $0 (zero dollars) or the highest bidder.

What do think its worth? What would you pay for a brand new Bruder/MediaSub Nikon D70 housing & flat port for the 18-70mm kit lens delivered directly from the manufacturer?

According to MediaSub's price list the housing and port should costs 1590 EUR excluding VAT and shipping.

We ordered a port for the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens, but received something else. MediaSub has agreed that whom ever buys the housing will be allowed to exchnage the port for which ever port he/she wants and only pay the price difference. (That was before we sent the housing back to them.)

Currently the housing and the port are at MediaSub. There was a number of problems with the housing:

(Copy-paste from a letter I've sent to MediaSub)

1) The grips on the handles are loose allowing the housing to swivel when holding it by one handle.2) The windows on the housing are not in line with the camera’s view-finder and back screen.3) The strobe synchronisation adapter doesn’t fit the camera hot shoe.4) The AD.WHEEL control doesn’t work when the housing is closed. If you just put the camera in the housing it appears to work, but when you close the housing pressure from the back causes the camera to move...5) The shutter release lever on the inside of the housing conflicts with other controls causing friction. The rubber cap on the lever falls off.6) The ISO-button is very “hard”.7) The MENU-button doesn’t work at all.8) The groove for the main O-ring is too large. The O-ring has repeatedly fallen out the groove when/if the housing was tilted the wrong way. The groove and the O-ring don’t seem to match at all. Look at the pictures further down in this document. Also the O-ring groove is full of large pores, scratches and lumps.

The reply we got from MediaSub, after we'd retuned the housing to them, stated:

1) We hadn't understood the nature of the material (carbon fiber)2) All controls worked prefectly fine.3) They wouldn't refund us (as we'd asked for) but they would supply us with a new housing.

Nothing has happend for some weeks now...

Initially we ordered this housing in december last year. In the beginning of February we were informed that the housing was ready to be shipped, and asked to pay for the housing and shipping in full before MediaSub would ship. We did so. The housing arrived at our office roughly TWO MONTH AFTER WE PAID for it! (Not 100% sure on the dates here, but I’m sure I can find logged documentation regarding this on our servers if I spend the time to look for it.)

I’m not a lawyer but stating that the housing was ready for shipment, asking for full payment, and then not ship for two months must be awfully close to fraud.

I'm certain MediaSub will ship that new housing to us some day, but I fear it will be very long before they do, and when they do there will be a bunch of new problems.

We want to transfer all these problems to someone else by selling the housing at a significant discount. It must be worth something between 0 and 1590 (plus VAT). Make us an offer!

In theory we would sell for "zero", but really... You have to offer "something".

I am not accustomed to intervening in forums. I estimate that a distributor should not appear there. But, I must restore the truth. Indeed, the customer had in his possession housing for D70 during 9 months.

At this date, he return us the housing by claiming that the camera does not function in the housing (after 9 months???) and of the defects of the matter in carbon fibre. We took again this housing and proposed to Mr Peterson, a new housing and, moreover, in its new version as soon as it will be on the market in January 2006.

You cannot, for example, return your car at the end of 9 months and to ask for its refunding even if you never used it.

I ask whether other companies would have made this kind of commercial dealing.

I tried this housing myself.

Moreover, we resold, of continuation, this housing to a customer, with a reduction well on, which is very happy with his purchase.

Dominique, welcome to wetpixel. We love to have industry members on board. Infact we have a forum that is only open to industry memebers. Please read these guidelines regarding behavior (this post was fine) and introduce yourself here

Of course there are two sides to every story. As a moderator I will just ask that everyone refrain from personal attacks and not use the Wetpixel Forums as a tool to "get back" at manufacturers that you are displeased with.

I'm not referring specifically to this post, just making a general comment.

It's fine to post your experiences with a product here, whether they are good or bad.

It's fine to criticize a product, or service, but please refrain from making specific attacks on people or companies.

Not really sure what truth Mr Scherer restored. Nothing he wrote contradicts anything I wrote (or vice versa). ***

I own this housing, and I want to sell it!

Actually I’m glad Mr Scherer confirmed that I do own the housing. It’s a bit odd to try and sell something you don’t “have”. Prospect buyers should also note that MediaSub plan to send me (or you if you buy it) a housing of a new design (not just a new housing). I never heard this before, and I have no idea what that new design is. Mr Scherer indicated that it could be shipped in January. Though he didn’t actually commit to a date, this it is the first time I received any kind of indication on a shipping date. This is all very encouraging!

Bruder/MediaSub offer a two-year warranty. Regardless of how you count there is a minimum of one year remaining on the warranty period.

***) There’s a discrepancy related to dates – what happened when – but I can’t be bothered with it.

A two years guarantee do not mean that the goods can be returned and refunded before this period if the housing do not pleased to you any more after 9 mouths.

A guarantee is valid for manufacturing defect. I think that we made a very great commercial gesture by replacing you the housing and moreover by a other one of a new series which will leave in January 2006.